Alysia Benson has been a bartender at Apollo Grill in Bethlehem since November 2008.Express-Times Photo | LISA MASSEY

Alysia Benson, who's been bartending since she was 18, got her start at Bethlehem's Apollo Grill four years ago this month.

Thrown into the fire, she started the day before Thanksgiving. It can be one of the busiest bar days of the year, with old friends home for the holiday getting together and others just taking advantage of a rare weekday off.

As her anniversary there approaches, Benson is making an autumn-appropriate delight at the restaurant and bar that's been a fixture of Bethlehem's West Broad Street restaurant row since February 1999.

Her roasted pineapple and sage sidecar martini, $10, features Christian Brothers brandy infused with leaves of the herb sage and pineapple doused with brown sugar and roasted in the oven about a half-hour, or until the sugar caramelizes.

Benson's roasted pineapple and sage sidecar martini requires a few days' worth of infusing brandy with sage plus roasting pineapple about a half-hour in the oven with brown sugar.Express-Times Photo | LISA MASSEY

"It's one of my personal favorites," says Benson, a 31-year-old married mother of three from Allentown, adding later: "It's just so delicious, and I really think it just screams fall."

The bartenders at Apollo Grill make several in-house infusions, rotating the offerings seasonally. In the summer, for example, they might have a strawberry-infused tequila that brings a reddish hue to margaritas.

Infusing liquor is simple, Benson says: Place your ingredient of choice in a bottle of liquor and let it steep for at least two days but not more than four or five. The longer it sits, the more flavor it gathers. Benson says adventurous drinkers can "infuse liquor with just about anything you want."

The sidecar traditionally uses brandy and Cointreau, an orange liqueur that also makes an appearance in Benson's version.

"It was just an idea," she says of her creation's origin. "We were playing around."

Just as the days get shorter and colder, the brandy offers a warming quality while the sage and roasted pineapple combine for a flavor that's sweet and savory.

"You could serve it on the rocks or you could serve it up in a martini glass," Benson says.